Dark Cat
by penmom
Summary: Gabrielle, newly turned Carpathian, and long-time secondary character, Gary, encounter danger and romance as they continue to research the assaults on the Carpathian race.
1. Chapter 1

Dark Cat

It had been a grueling couple of months with little sleep and even less peace of mind.

Since Gabrielle's attack, his time within the Carpathian community had been marked by one revelation after another, many of which hit much closer to home than he could have ever imagined. His mind, usually adept at mastering complex ideas and connections, was overwhelmed.

His life had been forever altered. His whole concept of who he was and even, what he was had been turned upside down. Even now as he sat reviewing his own genetic markers for the hundredth time, it was almost impossible to grasp.

However, in his soul he knew the truth. He was jaguar. His family was jaguar and with that, irrevocably tied to the Carpathian people.

Looking at his past through the new lens of this information, he could see this theme, the genetic directive running through his life, motivating and driving him toward this unknown destiny.

While in college, his older sister had abruptly married a man and soon lost touch with his family. He was only a small boy at the time but he remembered his parents' grief over the situation. He remembered his mother's intense reaction, her suspicion that her daughter had somehow fallen under the influence of someone or something otherworldly.

These early experiences, these fuzzy recollections from his childhood, had somehow planted a seed of interest in him that had driven him to seek out the unexplained even as he studied traditional science in school. By the time he had earned his doctorate in Biochemistry from Tulane at the young age of twenty-four, his interest has become an obsession. When the Morrison Institute approached him with an offer that entailed researching what most would consider mythological creatures in one of the most cutting edge research labs that money could buy, he couldn't believe his luck.

Now, he knew. He knew he had been caught like a fly in a spider's web. He had had no idea and he had to wonder how many other people were innocently caught in the same damn web. If it hadn't been for Gregori and Savannah; well, he didn't want to think too much about it. God forbid, what if he had become as research subject verses a researcher or even worse, one of the tormentors with their fanatical views, how his life could have easily taken a much more sinister path.

Gary shook his head in an effort to clear his murky thoughts. It was almost sunset; Gabrielle and Shea would be heading to the lab soon. Jubal was coming too. They were working on plotting a rudimentary family tree for all of those with jaguar blood. Once persons were identified and plotted, blood would be drawn and full genetic workups completed.

It was been an arduous undertaking. Simply ordering the most state-of-the-art genetic equipment from all over Europe had taken weeks. But finally, the bulk of what they could gather was in front of them. Now the real work began, work that was far more nebulous and frustrating than simply drawing blood and running tests. He wondered if a background in detective work might have served him better.

A fragrant burst of wind blew through the lab heralding Gabrielle's entrance. She had managed to master the Carpathian manner of travel without any difficulty. He wished he could say the same for many other of the changes that she had no choice other. Still, it was wonderful to see her, to be in her company.

She was of medium height with moderate curves in the places where women should be. She would say she was average if you asked, but he would beg to differ. The mere shape of her pleased him to no end. He could watch her move through the lab for hours, studying her with as much concentration as he would the most challenging sample. Her hair was a glossy dark brown that had only become more luxurious since her turning. In the course of a few months, it had grown from just below her ears to the middle of her back. She coped with, what she fondly called her "mess of hair" by trying a variety of various clips that she ordered over the internet. She shared that she was trying to find "the right one".

When he turned he saw that today she had pulled the hair nearest her face back and left the rest hanging loose. He knew from hours of careful observation that she hated to have her hair hanging in her face while she worked. She looked well, flushed with good health; she had obviously fed prior to coming.

Just that one thought kicked him straight in the gut. The intense feelings brought on by the thought of her taking blood from another man bit at him like nothing he had ever known and in moments like this, he could almost feel that he was indeed, jaguar. He fought to turn his attention elsewhere.

"I'm glad you're here." He said softly. His simple statement came out more like a confession to his ears.

She blushed. It hadn't been that long that she had been together enough to be up and out as regularly as she wanted to be. There were times now when she could almost imagine that nothing had changed. That she and Gary were closed up in their cozy, little world filled with microscopes and computers. Then, something would happen and her carefully concocted charade would vanish. Tonight it happened quickly; she could hear his heart beat speed as he looked at her from underneath his long dark blonde lashes. She could scent the subtle fragrance that she had begun to associate with Gary. It was so faint that she didn't pick it up as a human but now she warmed whenever she caught it – a woodsy, slightly musky smell that struck a cord deep within her.

She smiled, "I'm glad too. I would miss this for the world." She was sincere when she said this but she quickly turned to her work on the far side of the lab where she could comfortably hide behind a bank of computer equipment.

Gary followed her briefly but stopped as she turned the corner to what he liked to think of as Gabrielle's "space." "I feel like we are finally getting somewhere. I feel like the answers are in front of us, that all the pieces of the puzzle are here if only we could fit them together."

She peeked around the corner to answer, lured by his optimism. "I hope so. I really do."

There was so much more that she wanted to say but she was frightened that if she started, she wouldn't stop. With that thought, she retreated again.

Gary returned to his work. He felt calmer with her here, just knowing that she was near and safe. Past that, he felt no immediate need to push it any further.

The amount of information recently gained regarding the means by which Xavier and his minions were attempting to eradicate the entire Carpathian race was staggering. He wished he could forgo sleep for a month or two until he had processed the bulk of it.

********

It was 7:00 am before he tried to sleep in the quarters he kept above the lab. He had long ago stopped abiding by any sort of normal time table. Before Sara had hired her nanny, he often stayed up a portion of the day with her younger children but his scientific pursuits and their importance had now superceded all other responsibilities.

Still, he had come to depend on the things he could rely on his body to accomplish. He could function well on less sleep than an average human being. His strength and muscle mass was superior although he had rarely had an opportunity to exercise on a regular basis. His health was excellent by all accounts and tests and he often had results of a man fifteen years his junior.

He found he could function well on around five hours of sleep in any given 24 hour period. Longer than that and he would just toss and turn. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had been affected by the Carpathian blood flowing through his veins. He went through a short period where he journaled every minute alteration that he discovered in his physical self. The researcher in him could do no less. He found that thinking about these somewhat frightening changes was better done in third person.

He knew he needed to go back through that work and look at it with the understanding that he was also jaguar but he just couldn't bring himself to do it as of yet. Here was yet another unforeseen twist in the road.


	2. Chapter 2

**Dark Cat**

**Chapter 2**

**By Penmom**

Author's notes – praise goes to Christine Feehan for allowing us to play in her world.

Gabrielle stood in front of a huge smart board. The data displayed was a huge family tree with many generations and branches of a number of notable Carpathian families. Each entry or person on the chart carried a number of special markers, codes and notations that provided detailed information

With a glance, someone with knowledge of the key could know the genetic markers that each individual carried, as well as, whether that person had been born Carpathian or had been human. You could identify if a person carried markers that pointed to mage origins or ties to the Jaguar race. With Mary Ann's elusive werewolf traits and the unique contribution of her DNA to the database, several markers were even identified for this fascinating species.

She imagined that most people would view the huge chart as dry and boring but to her it rivaled the greatest masterpieces in the world. When she thought about the number of hours and study that has gone into the creation of the chart, she was in awe.

Gregori, Shea, Jubal, even Mikeal had contributed to the huge tree which held the genetic history of the Carpathian people but it would not have been possible without Gary. Gary, who had taken on these people as his own, had drawn the samples. He had done the bulk of the lab work, especially since Shea's son had been born.

If she was honest with herself, she would admit that her feelings for him ran far deeper than professional admiration. Before that horrible night when she would have died if not converted, she often dreamed of a future with Gary. Tucked in their lab, finding excitement in their discoveries and in each other, it seemed like a wonderful life but now she didn't dare dream.

There were some occasions now that she felt as if she were nothing more than a brood mare. It felt as if all the unattached Carpathian males circled her like sharks. Of all the drastic changes she had encountered since that fateful night, the one that worried her most was the thought of bonding with an ancient Carpathian warrior. She understood the plight of the Carpathian people but she just couldn't imagine herself with anyone but Gary. She agonized about how their relationship could be possible now. She held her breath at the idea of a male suddenly professing that he could see colors after meeting her.

Her sister, Joie, who was already bonded to a Carpathian male, assured her that if and when a male reacted to her then she would also feel the same intense bond. Still, that little voice in the back of her head whispered Gary's name.

************

Gary paced out on the balcony that circled the upper floor of the research complex. The night was cool and the wind whispered to him. Despite the calmness of the night, he felt as if he was going to jump out of his skin.

The restlessness that he was feeling had increased drastically in recent weeks. He was increasingly irritable with his friends. He couldn't stay still, his focus was shot to hell and he felt as if his skin was clawing half the time. He had done his level best to keep a lid on it but there were cracks in his façade. On more than one occasion, he had turned to find Gregori studying him intently so he imagined his mood was noticeable. Knowing Gregori as he did, he knew that Gregori might have picked up on some physical changes as well.

From comparing all of his own data, he could see that his hormone levels had started to rise very slightly almost immediately upon meeting Gabrielle last year. Another jump occurred when he began having regular contact with Jubal and then again when he began to have more contact with several other members of their extended community with some degree a jaguar blood. He hypothesized that continued exposure – perhaps olfactory, perhaps psychic – perhaps both – to others with a jaguar heritage somehow escalated these changes.

Who was he kidding – trying to be all analytical - emotionally and cognitively, he was a train wreck. Months ago, when he had first suspected that his latent jaguar genes had begun to express themselves, he had begun to run entire batteries of tests on himself practically every daily. Using prior samples as baselines, he could easily chart any number of hormones that were going off the chart plus several that were entirely new to him. His brain activity was spiking at odd intervals especially in his cerebellum and prefrontal lobes.

In his more lucid moments, the researcher in him wanted to test his hypothesis by testing this very specific population to see if any others were experiencing any of the same symptoms. In the wild, unpredictable moments which were coming much more frequently, he could have cared less. He just wanted to run - to go out into the wild and run or even more disturbingly to go to Gabrielle and well, at that point his urges were purely tactile. .

A slight stir in the air caught his attention, he turned around only to find his closest friend in all the world materializing in front of him.

Gregori inclined his head in greeting before looking up and meeting Gary's glaze. "My friend, I believe it is time we talked. I can no longer ignore your growing unrest."

Gregori tilted his head slightly before he continued. "I fear your desire for Gabrielle is reaching – how shall I say it – dangerous proportions."

Flashing on several of his more graphic fantasies, Gary found that it was difficult to meet Gregori's knowing expression. He shrugged his shoulders. "I know. When it started, I thought it was just jealousy. The thought of her having to take sustenance from another in such an intimate way, it eats at me. Whatever is going on with me…" His voice broke before he could continue. "I agree, I am becoming more unpredictable. The more this hormonal cocktail keeps pumping through me, the more dangerous I become. I've been denying it for weeks, for months really."

Tears came in his eyes, "I've never felt this way before – so restless, so angry. God, I've even tried dosing myself with tranquilizers – doses large enough to take down a lion. It hasn't put a dent in it."

Gregori's voice had a calming effect. "I know this to be true. We are bonded. I feel your turmoil. Savannah feels it as well. She fears for you. She fears for Gabrielle. I have waited, hoping that your condition would stabilize on its' own but I am here now to offer my assistance, my friend. "

Gregori held his hand out, palm outstretched in friendship, "I too have struggled with violence with emotions, with my life mate – I will see you through this."

Gary felt his mood swing wildly. How could Gregori stand there so at ease, so all knowing – he had no idea. He proclaimed louder than he has intended, "How? How can you help me? Put me out of my misery like a rabid animal?" Even as the words were out of his mouth, he knew his greatest fear – that the only way out of this hell was death. God forbid, if Gabrielle bonded with another, he would have no choice but to kill himself before he tried to go after her life mate.

Gregori ignored the bulk of Gary's outburst and continued on.

"I have some ideas about what is happening to you. Through our blood bond, I have some sense of what you are experiencing. Your feelings for her increase your instability. I can feel your anger when you see her with other males, even bonded males. Last night, I had to intercede to provide you with additional fortitude before you attacked Darius when he spoke to Gabrielle last night."

As Gary processed Gregori's words the anger poured through him again. He couldn't seem to help himself as he snarled "She's mine. Can't you see it?"

Gary's responses seemed to confirm a portion of Gregori's theories. Gary was experiencing emotions and instincts similar to those of a Carpathian male when first confronted with his life mate. These bonding instincts were complicated by the volatile and possessive emotions of a Jaguar male. If this was the case, Gary presented a threat to Gabrielle, the males around her and himself.

He pushed at Gary's mind, sending messages of peace and fatigue. Gary suddenly felt as if a great weight was pressing him down. He guessed it was Gregori but it actually felt like a reprieve from the chaos around him. He did what he could to suppress his anger and go gently with the compulsion to sleep.

Gregori caught Gary before he could hit the ground. Carrying him like a child, he quickly brought him to a little used cavern fairly close to a deep forest. Torches flamed on the walls as Gregori entered.


End file.
